Why are guards called screws

Thank you, guys! TimeKeeper New Member English. AlexDD said:. I hear those terms on TV shows and in the movies my education did not include a stint in prison. I do wonder what actual prisoners call the guards. My neighbor is a "corrections officer" his term.

Somehow I get the feeling that screen writers use those slang words in an effort to sound authentic without any real life experience. Good point, Mr. So, the origin is not for certain; it seems likely that it had something to do with the key they carried, but might possibly had some connection to thumbscrews. This came from the prison's punishment pointless device the crank. This was a large handle in a prisoner's cell that they would have to turn, thousands of times a day.

This could be tightened by the warders, making it harder to turn, which resulted in their nickname of screws. These punishments were not abolished until A prison guard is sometimes referred to as a "turnkey. One punishment was to make prisoners do hard labour, such as putting them on a treadmill ten hours a day.

Another form of hard labour was to turn a crank which served no purpose but to exhaust the prisoner. The guards would tighten the crank to make turning it harder, giving them the nickname screws. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. What is the origin of the term "screw" in the case of a prison guard?

Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 4 months ago. Active 6 years, 6 months ago. Big and agile. Answers 1 to 6 of 6. Best Answer No best answer has yet been selected by shivvy. One site suggests the following: " Screw as a term for a prison guard is based on the fact that screw was originally slang for "key. Another theory is that screw refers to the thumbscrews used by jailers in ancient times to torture prisoners into confessing. A skelton key: c[ant]: , Potter; slightly ob[solescent].

To give a somewhat more British slant to things The slang word screw originated in the Victorian era when a prison warder or officer would give a prisoner a pointless task as a punishment. Crank Machines One of these punishments was a crank machine used as hard labour.

This crank machine would involve the inmate having to turn a handle on a drum which would be filled with sand or water to make it heavier.